Litigation is avoided, at least for now, with the federal government's promise this week that it will deliver by July 11 a fish protection plan for dams it operates in the Willamette River basin.

The stipulated settlement agreement and order of dismissal signed Tuesday by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Paul Papak outlines the final steps to be taken to produce a biological opinion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' "Willamette Project." The NOAA Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service produce BiOps to judge whether federal actions, such as the operation of the dams, jeopardize the survival of fish and wildlife listed under the Endangered Species Act.

In exchange, a lawsuit, which claims the federal agencies have failed to complete the Biop in a timely manner, will be dismissed.

Upper Willamette spring chinook salmon and steelhead stocks and Lower Columbia chinook and steelhead stocks were listed as threatened in 1999. Bull trout were added to the list in 1998 and the Oregon chub in 1993.

Federal action agencies led by the Corps in 2000 issued a biological assessment that concluded that the Willamette Project is likely to adversely affect ESA-listed Upper Willamette chinook and winter steelhead, bull trout, and Oregon chub, but not the Lower Columbia salmon and steelhead. That BA was supplemented in 2007.

The BA conclusion triggered the federal ESA "consultation" process, which faltered for a variety of reasons.

The Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center in September filed a lawsuit against the services, the Corps and the Bureau of Reclamation in an attempt to force federal action.

"During the intervening seven years, the Corps and BOR have continued to take actions in operating the dams and reservoirs, funding and implementing mitigation measures, and maintaining water services contracts, resulting in irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources in violation of Section 7(d) of the ESA," according to the Sept. 20 complaint. "These actions have also resulted in the 'take' of protected fish species in violation of Section 9 of the ESA."

The complaint alleged violations of the ESA, Administrative Procedures Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The settlement agreement reached by the federal agencies and PEAC and signed by Papak dismisses those claims.

"Nothing in this Stipulation shall preclude Plaintiffs from bringing similar claims in a challenge to the Final BiOp," the agreement/order says. PEAC represents Willamette Riverkeeper and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center.

The agreement/order calls on the services to provide the action agencies with a final BiOp before Friday July 11 and within 10 days thereafter provide PEAC with a copy. The action agencies are the Corps, which operates the dams, and the Bureau, which markets water stored behind the projects. Most of the contract water goes for irrigation.

The system includes 11 multiple purpose storage reservoirs and two re-regulating reservoirs, an authorized navigation channel, and bank protection works. The Willamette drainage system begins south of Cottage Grove in west-central Oregon and flows north to its confluence with the Columbia River at Portland.